This invention relates generally to athletic shoes and cleat assemblies therefor, and in particular to an improved cleat assembly for an athletic shoe that provides the person(s) wearing said shoe with the ability to adjust to specific movements and/or situations, thereby minimizing the stress and impact on muscles, joints and ligaments and enhancing the performance and the well-being of the athlete(s) and/or person(s) wearing the athletic shoe with the cleat assembly disclosed herein.
Generally speaking, in sports such as soccer, baseball, football, rugby, etc., a lot of stress and strain is placed upon the player's foot and footwear, thus resulting in a lot of strain and stress on the player's joints, muscles and ligaments. Such players also perform various movements which includes starting, stopping, turning, cutting, planting and landing in various positions, just to name a few.
Frequent athletic injuries are the result of trauma brought about by torsion of the leg. This trauma typically occurs at the time of pivotal rotation when the foot is stationary. Injuries can vary from damage to the knee's cartilage and ligaments to fractures of the tibia bone. It is believed that many of the injuries are linked to the interaction between the playing surface and the athlete's shoe.
For example, adhesion to the playing surface (e.g. natural grass or turf) is important and should be considered both in translation and rotational. It is therefore important to achieve optimum adhesion, not necessarily at maximum. For example, the friction coefficient in translation must be high enough to allow acceleration and the rapid changes of direction required for high performance, yet the adhesion in rotation must be the lowest possible in order to avoid breakage of the shoe at the time of a rotation.
It has also been found that players injure their muscles, joints and ligaments during aggressive athletic endeavors.
It would be desirous to provide a cleat assembly for an athletic shoe that minimizes the likelihood of injuries, minimizes the severity of such injuries and provides an opportunity to recover quickly from any awkward stops, starts, cuts, landings, etc.
Accordingly, an improved cleat assembly for an athletic shoe that overcomes the drawbacks found in the prior art while at the same time achieves the advantages and objectives, as set forth herein, is desired.